INFORMATION AND TIPS ABOUT SOUTHWEST FLORIDA REAL ESTATE

A great community here in SW Florida just got a little better. Check this out. Mediterra offers luxury estates and single-family maintenance-free villas by London Bay Homes, priced from $1 million to over $7 million. A number of new homes are available in several intimate neighborhoods at Mediterra: Lucarno, Cabreo, Cortile, Il Cuore, Serata and the newly introduced Caminetto. Three model homes – fully furnished by Romanza Interior Design – are currently open for viewing and provide visitors a true sense of home and community. With more than 1,000 acres dedicated to open space, parks and nature preserves, Mediterra offers award-winning amenities, including the 32,000-square-foot Club at Mediterra, The Sports Club with fitness center and spa treatment rooms, and the private Beach Club along the Gulf of Mexico. From epicurean cuisine and beach concierge services to bocce and tennis, the community’s luxury lifestyle and continued introduction of new amenities has repeatedly been recognized as the best in Southwest Florida – and internationally. Visitors to Mediterra’s redesigned sales center receive a bright warm welcome at Naples’ 10-time community of the year.

Types of Waterfront in Cape Coral When considering to purchase a waterfront property in Cape Coral Florida, as well as other parts of SW Florida, an understanding of the options and limitations of the various types of waterfront is essential for making a good real estate purchase. Cape Coral has approximately 400 miles of canals, giving property owners and potential buyers several different waterfront options in Cape Coral to choose from and enjoy along with the SW Florida climate. The difference mainly being access or lack of access to open water, and boating limitations. Freshwater Canals About a third to one half of all the canals in Cape Coral are considered “fresh water” and do not have access to open water (the gulf, river or inter-coastal). Many of these canals do interconnect with each other and with a few freshwater lakes within the interior of Cape Coral. They are great for “tooling” around throughout the freshwater canal system where there is great fishing just like every other bit of water here in SW Florida. The one thing you can’t do though is boat to open water. Of

Being out-bid on a real estate purchase sucks! They accepted another offer, what happened? In many communities, SW Florida being no different, the market has “shifted” quite dramatically over the past couple of years. Inventory levels are low and buyers who have been on the side lines for the past few years are now back in the game. We have had many clients who, in the past few months, have had their (reasonable) real estate offer looked over for another. Some can blame themselves for not heeding our advice by submitting a lower offer than suggested, but many did submit strong offers and in some cases over the asking price offers. What happened and how do we learn from this? Along with a robust sellers market (in our area), approximately 50% of single family home transactions and about 65% of condo transactions are cash. You’ve heard that “cash is king”, well cash may also be the norm (at least in our area). But not everyone has the means to pay cash. Luckily, there are a few tips to help your real estate

I suppose it’s not funny, especially to the poor seller trying to sell their home, but there are more horrible pictures on property listings than you ever could imagine. Too dark, too light, out of focus, upside down, how about no pictures? I say to myself “what are they thinking?”. Even if a bad photograph is taken (which is easy to do), why would you use it in your marketing? Another good question is why would the seller find this acceptable? Do they not know how their property is being marketed? The simple answer many times is no. Why is this so important? NAR, the National Association of Realtors, keeps track of every type of statistic you can imagine when it comes to real estate and real estate marketing. The lack of photos or the inclusion of very poor quality photos do have an effect on the sale of the property listing. It is a fact that property listings with a lack of good quality photos take longer to sell and do sell for less money than property listings with several good quality

Tanglewood is a well established deed restricted community in the heart of Fort Myers, FL. Located just off of McGregor Boulevard just a few blocks from the Caloosahatchee River. The Tanglewood community, as well as many of the surrounding neighborhoods, are some of the more desirable neighborhoods within Fort Myers. Mature, well-established landscaping and vegetation gives this area its “old Florida” beauty. The central location and close proximity to the best that Fort Myers has to offer, also increases its desirability. Head south on McGregor Blvd to visit Fort Myers Beach or Sanibel Island; or head north toward the Edison and Henry Ford estates or to downtown Fort Myers. Search for homes currently for sale in Tanglewood Built in the 60’s by quality builder Michigan Homes, these properties have stood the test of time. Built on “non-cookie-cutter” lots, larger that what is typically built on today and are considered by many to have been constructed well past the typical building techniques of the day. These homes still look great. The community and the homes within are well-kept and many have been updated throughout the years. Tanglewood consists of

A Great Location, a Desirable Community Centrally located in Fort Myers, FL, Whiskey Creek is a well established deed restricted community. The sub-communities that make up Whiskey Creek consist of condos, attached villas, single family homes, as well as gulf access canal homes and a 55+ community. Mature, well manicured landscaping is the norm throughout this beautiful neighborhood. The location of Whiskey Creek makes it a desirable find for the real estate buyer looking for a great balance of quiet and closeness to surrounding activities. In addition, the county club, golf course and restaurant add to the amenities that are available to residents. Whiskey Creek neighbors are made up from a great mix of young as well as mature families. On any day, you will see a great number of people walking and biking along the bike paths throughout the neighborhood. Entrances off of McGregor Blvd and College Pkwy give it easy and quick access to shopping, grocery, restaurants and more. Find restaurants, grocery, coffee houses, etc. that are close to Whiskey Creek Schools close by Whiskey Creek Country Club Whiskey Creek’s golf course is an executive

McGregor Palms Lined with majestic Royal Palms, McGregor Blvd is a good reason why the city of Fort Myers is know as “The City of Palms”. The original planting of palms were brought from Cuba and planted with the help of Thomas Edison and stretched from his winter home located on McGregor Blvd to downtown Fort Myers. Today, an estimated 1800 palms line McGregor Blvd from downtown Fort Myers to Punta Rassa. Originally known as Riverside Ave, a shell sand and dirt road, McGregor Blvd was originally used to drive cattle from downtown Fort Myers to Punta Rassa when the area was a bustling cattle community. Later the name was change to McGregor Blvd after Ambrose McGregor, the president of Standard Oil and neighbor of Thomas Edison, in 1912 at the request of his wife Tootie. Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone as well as Ambrose McGregor all owned winter homes along McGregor Blvd. Today, the Edison and Ford Winter Estates are a busy local attraction where one can tour the estate, museum and laboratory. Also, one of the world’s largest Banyan trees, originally planted

Many from the North think Floridians miss out on all the fun of Christmas. A lack of snow in our forecast at Christmas here in Southwest Florida doesn’t mean we won’t be able to have a “white Christmas”. We enjoy the white sands of our wonderful beaches in December as easily as we do in June. Frosty the Snowman will not come to life in any Florida yard. We take great pride in lighting our palm trees and setting up fiber optic sleighs pulled by Christmas hat clad alligators Our homes do not have stockings hung by the chimney, although wet bathing suits and towels are often strung across the lanai with great care. Our “Norman” A Norman Rockwell painting showing a loving family around a Christmas tree isn’t the kind of Norman we yearn for. Our thoughts and taste buds this time of the year, are focused on Southwest Florida’s very own Norman; the Chocolatier Norman Love that is. Boat Parade for Christmas?? Southwest Florida has it’s own approach to the annual Christmas parade. Whether the 25th annual Fort Myers

Beautiful Bunche Beach and Preserve Located at the southern end of John Morris Rd on San Carlos Bay, Bunche Beach is a hidden gem. With it’s “old Florida” feel, Bunche Beach and Preserve is typical of the area before development came to southwest Florida and the introduction of exotic plant species. Most of the exotic vegetation had been methodically removed over the recent years to bring the area back to it’s original splendor. As a natural tidal wetlands area and living ecosystem, Bunche Beach is home to a wide variety of wildlife and vegetation native to southwest Florida. Bunche Beach is also a designated a Great Florida Birding Trail site where one can view a wide variety of bird species. Outdoor Activity Center In 2010 a new Outdoor Activity Center was completed. The center includes two kayak launches, two overlook/fishing piers, a 310 ft boardwalk, parking and natural composting restrooms that are solar powered and designed to have minimal environmental impact. About 100 vehicles can park at a rate of $2/hour and no pets or alcohol are permitted. Kayak rentals